LAWS 4602
Is Religious Freedom a Human Right?
Legal, theoretical, and theological interconnections between religion and human rights. Evaluation of concepts including religious freedom, secularism, public sphere, accommodation and neutrality. Examination of religion and culture, interdependence of legal and religious perspectives, boundaries of religion and state, and religious compulsion. Use of case studies.
Topics
- cluding religious freedom
- secularism
- public sphere
- accommodation and neutrality
Course catalogue
2026
Readings
- Woodhead, Linda. 2011. “Five concepts of religion.” International Review of Sociology 21 (1): 121-143.
- McGuire, Meredith. 2008. Lived Religion: Faith and Practice in Everyday Life. New York: Oxford University Press OR
- Ammerman, Nancy T. 2020. “Rethinking Religion: Toward a Practice Approach.” The American Journal of Sociology 126 (1): 6–51.
- Habermas, Jürgen. 2008. “Notes on post‐secular society.” New Perspectives Quarterly 25 (4): 17-29.
- Davie, Grace. 2007. “Believing without Belonging to Vicarious Religion: Understanding the Patterns of Religion in Modern Europe.” In The Role of Religion in Modern Societies, edited by
- Detlef Pollack and Daniel V. A. Olson, 165-176. New York: Routledge.
- Case: Kwazulu-Natal and Others v Pillay (CCT 51/06) [2007] ZACC 21
- Witte Jr, John, and M. Christian Green. Introduction to Religion and Human Rights: An Introduction, edited by John Witte Jr. and M. Christian Green, 3-24. Oxford University Press,
- McGraw, Barbara A., and James T. Richardson. 2019. “Religious Regulation in the United States.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics.
- Jakobsen, Janet R., and Ann Pellegrini. 2004. Love the Sin: Sexual Regulation and the Limits of Religious Tolerance. Boston: Beacon Press.
Prerequisites & course information
Also listed as HRSJ 4602 , RELI 4602 . Prerequisite(s): LAWS 2908 , LAWS 3602 , and fourth-year Honours standing. Seminars three hours a week.